I first read about the Zen Buddhism Five Reflections in the book Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki. This post highlights three different translations. Choose your favorite! The Zen Buddhism Five Reflections chant, Gokan no Ge Here's the version from Goodbye, Things: Reflect upon how the food has come before you—how the food might have been grown, how it was prepared, and how it was brought to you as your meal. Reflect upon your virtues and … [Read more...]
Blue Zones: How Ikarians Live Simply for 100+ Years
"The Island Where People Forget to Die" — That's the title of The New York Times article I came across during my existential crisis in 2015. I was searching through some emails recently and came across an email I sent to my dad in early 2016. Here's exactly what I sent him: I would say Ikarians (from the Blue Zones) are the most sane humans on the planet. Long healthy life, minimal impact on the planet, meaningful relationships ("us" vs. "me"), plant-based diets, drink wine and tea with … [Read more...]
Slow Living 201: A Deep Dive into Slow Living & The Slow Movement
Welcome to the second post in this series on slow living. If you haven't read the first post, you can check it out below. Or, if you're already a pro, feel free to skip ahead to the last post to put your knowledge into action: Slow Living 101: What is Slow Living? Slow Living 301: How to Start a Slow Living Lifestyle The History of Slow Living There seems to be a worldwide consensus that everything started in 1986 when Carlo Petrini protested against the opening of a … [Read more...]
Simplify Magazine (Issue 002 Preview/Summary)
A couple weeks ago, I took you through an introduction and summary of Simplify Magazine Issue 001 which was all about happiness. Just a reminder that you can still get a free copy of that first issue here. Like I said in my original post, I was skeptical of Simplify Magazine. However, Issue 002 delivered just like the first. They upped the game even more by delivering 9 essays in Issue 002 vs. 7 essays in Issue 001. For Issue 002, I'll be skimming the surface a little bit more so I … [Read more...]
Blue Zones: Longevity Hacks from Earth’s Oldest People
Secrets of the Blue Zones • One of the most fascinating things I've come across in the last couple years has been the Blue Zones. I even mentioned Blue Zones in one of my 18 Uncommon Stats to Set Your 2018 Perspective. Dan Buettner is the founder of Blue Zones and has found 5 places on Earth where people live the longest, healthiest lives (aka Blue Zones): Ikaria, Greece Sardinia, Italy Okinawa, Japan Nicoya, Costa Rica and Loma Linda, California Dan is also the author of … [Read more...]